Clarity
by LeanaVine
Summary: A camping trip ends horribly, and Katara is left feeling like her world has ended. The only friend she has left is Zuko, surprisingly. Now she finds solace in the man she used to hate with a passion. (AU. Includes major character death. Warning of depression. Eventual Zutara, Zuko/Katara. Sokki, Sokka/Suki. Slight Maiko, Zuko/Mai. One-sided Kataang, Aang/Katara.)


**A/N:** My first Avatar story. I'm probably not getting the characters right. Zuko's hard, because he completely changed in the last season, and Mai is hard, because she hates everything and everyone (except Zuko). This will eventually be a Zutara, Zuko/Katara, fic. Not really sure where I'm going with this. Honestly, I was inspired by _Final Destination 3_ , and I had this idea, but I didn't know what fandom or characters to use. I recently rewatched Avatar, and decided I'd try writing for the series. We'll see how this goes.

As always, I do not share any views expressed by any characters in this story. And I own nothing in this story.

Okay, please read, review, and enjoy!

* * *

"Sokkaaaaaa~ Come tell me bye!" Katara called up the stairs. She pushed her hair out of her face, waving at her friends who were waiting outside.

He hurried down the stairs, wrapping his little sister in a hug and spinning her around as she squealed. "Be safe, okay? Come back to me in one piece." She jumped when she felt him slip something into her back pocket. When she reached into her pocket to see what it was, Katara knew it was a pocket knife. Sokka winked at her, and she smiled. He was always so protective, and she loved that about him.

Suki, Sokka's girlfriend, came to his side, wrapping an arm around his. "We'll have a nice dinner made for your return, okay?" she promised. "And I'll make sure Sokka only _peels_ the potatoes this time. No cooking." Sokka laughed shyly and Suki poked his cheek.

Katara giggled. "Thanks Suki. I'll be back before you know it." With that, she picked up her sea green backpack, pulling it on, and grabbed her pink tote, slinging it over her shoulder. "Bye guys!" She rushed outside, where her friends had been waiting patiently by Zuko's red SUV.

Aang grinned at her, taking her bag and kissing her cheek. "Let's get you loaded up, little lady."

She took off her backpack, putting it in the back of the SUV with the rest of the luggage. "This is exciting, huh? I can't remember the last time I went camping; maybe with Sokka and our dad when we were little."

"Hope you're not on your period," Mai stated, examining her nails. "Bears can smell even the tiniest bit of blood from miles away. I don't feel like dying in the woods."

Katara blushed. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Can we not talk about periods?" Zuko asked, leaning out the driver's window. "Now let's go, we have a long drive ahead of us."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, Zuzu, we were just chatting, like girls do."

They all piled into the car, Mai up front with Zuko, Aang and Katara in the back seat. Zuko had some alternative music playing quietly over the radio, but Katara had a bit of a headache, and long car rides usually made her sick, so she put in her headphones, scrolling through her ASMR tapes on her iPod. She settled on rain on a tin roof, and closed her eyes. Mai stared out the window, disinterested as usual, as Aang and Zuko chatted about soccer.

After about three hours, they stopped at a gas station so Zuko could fill up the car with gas. While he did that, the others went inside, looking at the snacks. Aang picked out some BBQ chips and a bottle of soda; Mai got some chocolate donuts, which was unlike her; and Katara got a blue raspberry slushie. She paused before checking out, and picked out some cinnamon candies for Zuko. Katara wondered for a moment why Mai hadn't thought to get him anything.

She approached Zuko, who was leaning against the side of the car, waiting for it to be fueled up. With a little smile, she modestly held out the candy. "Here, for you. I know you like spicy food, but I wasn't sure if you'd like spicy candy."

He looked surprised, then smiled at her. "I love these, actually. Thank you," he told her, pushing back his long, black hair. Zuko paused, then chuckled.

"What?" Katara asked.

He pointed to his mouth, smiling. "Your lips are blue."

Katara blushed a little and giggled, touching her lips as if she could feel them change color. "I forgot blue slushies do that. Is my tongue blue, too?" She stuck it out at him, and laughed when he nodded.

"Okay, stop flirting you two," Mai commented, getting into the passenger seat and closing the door behind her.

The gas pump clicked off, signaling that the car was full. Zuko removed the nozzle, and half smiled at Katara. "Guess it's time to get moving again."

* * *

Two and a half hours later, they were at Blue Beaver Camp Grounds. Instead of being the classic parking lot in the woods full of RV's, Blue Beaver was ten acres of woods, all fenced off, where campers could set up tents and be surrounded by nature, the old fashioned way.

They had brought two tents: one for the boys, and one for the girls. Though the couples would rather spend the nights cuddled up together, it had been Katara's dad's request that she not sleep in the same tent as Aang. Mai argued that there would be no way for her dad to know they didn't sleep together, but Katara couldn't stand lying, especially not to her family. She actually felt a bit relieved to know she'd be sleeping with Mai, anyway.

As the boys set up the tents, Katara and Mai walked around gathering wood for a fire. "So, how are things with Zuko?" Katara asked, brushing some dirt off of her navy blue tank top.

With a shrug, Mai replied, "Eh. Could be worse. He puts up with my crap, and that's really all I ask for. What about you and Aang? You guys aren't as cute as you used to be when you first started dating."

Katara paused, looking down at her collection of sticks. "I don't know. Sometimes I think about breaking up with him, but I know it would kill him. The truth is, I just don't really think of him in a dating way. I love him, but not like that."

Mai sighed, shaking her head. "Then it's time to grow a set and end it. You don't want to be married to him with two kids, regretting never telling him the truth. I'm pretty sure that's what happened to my parents."

Frowning at the ground, Katara slowly nodded. "Maybe you're right. But, now isn't a good time. Let's just have fun this weekend, and maybe I'll tell him after we get back."

When they returned to camp, Zuko had his tent set up, and was making a pit for the fire, but Aang was still struggling with the tent for the girls. He growled at the instructions. "You aren't helpful at all!" Then he saw Katara, and Aang smiled from ear to ear. "There's my favorite girl. Do you mind helping me?"

She smiled, coming to his side. "What step are you on?" she asked, looking at the paper in his hand.

Aang groaned. "I don't even know anymore."

"Why don't you just let me do it?" Zuko asked as he tried to catch fire to some dry grass he had spread in the fire pit with the twigs the girls collected. "You're probably making it more difficult than it needs to be."

Rolling his eyes, Aang replied, "Thanks, but I think I can figure it out."

Katara ran a hand through her long, chestnut hair and cleared her throat. She wanted to tell Aang that he should let Zuko help, but she didn't feel that it was her place, so she stood there in awkward silence. "Well...I'm going to unload the car," she stated, going to the SUV. She wasn't sure why, but Aang had been acting annoyed at Zuko lately, and it really made her uncomfortable. Aang was usually the peaceful, pacifist type, so seeing him with an attitude was unsettling.

It took a few trips, but finally Katara had all the bags out of the car. She sat down next to Mai with a huff, who began to braid her long, wavy hair.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the abrupt ending, but I wasn't sure how to end this chapter. Next chapter will be better; I'm sure of it.


End file.
